As they rode in the back of a sheriff's van toward court to face a charge of murdering a teenage girl, Jesse Blue West's son asked him to take responsibility for the crime.

"Try to remember something," Dustin Moir said. "I'm your son and I'm young. I have my life ahead of me."

The men's conversation was recorded by police in March 2007 and played Tuesday at West's B.C. Supreme Court trial in Chilliwack. West is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 14-year-old Chelsey Acorn.

Acorn ran away from her Abbotsford foster home in June 2005 and it is believed that she was murdered sometime between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2005. Her body was found in April 2006 by hikers along the Coquihalla River just north of Hope.

Acorn had been strangled and buried naked in a shallow grave. Her head had also been crushed by a large rock. West told police during an undercover operation that he killed Acorn to protect his son after Moir had sex with Acorn. It is alleged that although West strangled Acorn, both men participated in the killing.

In spite of knowing their conversation was being monitored - at one point West said, "Watch what you're saying, we're being recorded" - father and son discussed the killing.

Referring to what West had told undercover officers, Moir asked, "Since you gave yourself up already, why don't you do me a favour and take a little more responsibility?"

West said he would talk to his lawyer about Moir's request.

Moir said all his father had to do was make a statement to police.

"Just remember to tell them the truth about me," Moir pressed. "I don't see any reason why you wouldn't do that for me."

West said the statement had to be believable and said he would get back to Moir at the end of the day.

"I don't know what there is I can do for you, but I'll do it," Moir said, offering to bring his father money in prison if he was acquitted. "You pull my chain, I'll pull yours."

During the trip, West also suggested that if he and his son had a better relationship, they would not have been ensnared in the police undercover operation.

"I should've seen it coming," West said. "If we would have been in contact, we would have seen it coming."

Crown prosecutors closed their case Tuesday after six weeks of evidence.

Defence lawyer Brian Coleman is expected to tell the court Wednesday whether West will testify.

West initially went to trial with Moir in November 2009, but their cases were severed after about a month.

A jury convicted Moir of first-degree murder in February 2010 and he was given the mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years

Click here to read more stories from The Province.